Roller catch



July 26, 1955 LOEB 2,714,029

ROLLER CATCH Filed Dec. 7, 1954 j INVENTOR.

/7am ?/s Z055 nited States i t 7.

This invention relates to roller catches in general.

Among the objects of the present invention it is aimed to provide an improved roller catch of the type in which a bracket fioatingly mounts a fork, the fork in turn floatingly mounts a roller, and a coil spring cooperates with the fork and bra'cket'n'ormally to maintain the roller in extended door locking position, yieldably, however, to clear a strike or door jamb when opening or closing the door.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved roller catch of the type aforesaid in which a bracket floatingly mounts a fork, the fork in turn floatingly mounts a roller, and a coil spring cooperates with the fork and bracket normally to maintain the roller in extended door locking position, yieldably, however, to clear a strike or door jamb when opening or closing the door, and where the spring will cooperate with the bracket and fork to anchor the parts to one another and the shank of the fork is tapered and the spring conical to enable the fork to incline with the roller relative to the spring without inclining the spring to allow for a warp or wear of the strike or door jamb engaged by the roller.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the present invention will appear from the subjoined detailed description of specific embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the roller catch partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental section similar to Fig. 1 showing the roller and fork tilted to compensate for a warp or the like.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of an hourglass coil spring to be used instead of the conical coil spring shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a cylindrical coil spring to be used instead of the conical coil spring shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a plan of a blank before it has been bent into bracket form when the bracket is composed of sheet metal.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, there is illustrated a roller catch spring consisting of a main bracket 1 composed of a high front wall 2, a short flange or rear wall 3, a base 4, two side walls 5 and 6 contiguous with said front Wall 2 and extending at right angles thereto, and two flanges 7 and 8 contiguous with said side walls 5 and 6 and extending at right angles thereto and parallel to the plane of the front wall 2. The flanges 7 and 8 have elongated slots 9 and 10 therein to receive the screws 11 and 12 respectively, as shown in Fig. 1, the extended length of the slots 9 and 10 being provided to facilitate adjusting the position of the catch after the screws 11 and 12 have been secured in place. The side walls 5 and 6 have portions 13 and 14 extending upwardly beyond the upper end of the front wall 2 and upper end of the flanges 7 and 8 and have elongated position shown in Fig. 1.

2,714,029 Patented July 26, 1955 slots 15 and 16 therein. The bracket 1 is preferably composed of a metal, either sheet metal or a casting. Ifit is composed of sheet metal, then as shown in Fig. 7, the blank 17 will be cut out and then bent into the shape of the bracket 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

A roller 18, preferably composed of rubber or a similar yieldable substance, has a shaft 19 extending through the same, the ends of which project from the roller 18 and are journalled in the slots 15 and 16. Preferably the ends of the shaft 19 are peened over as shown.

For yieldably positioning the roller 18 in extended position relative to the bracket 1, the coil spring 20 and fork 21 are provided. The spring 20 is preferably conical in shape having a base 22, in diameter corresponding s'ubstantially to the width of the base 4 of the bracket 1 from the front wall 2 to the flange 3 to aid in anchor-ing the spring 20 against displacement when the base 22 is positioned on the base 4 of the bracket 1 and the diminished narrow upper end 23 of the spring 20 receives the shank 24 of the fork 21.

The fork 21 is preferably composed of one piece of spring sheet metal having the shank 24 composed of two arms 25 and 26, not only tapering in width from the outer end 27 but also flaring outwardly away from one another as they extend toward the lateral extensions 28 and 29, which lateral extensions 28 and 29 continue into the parallel arms 30 and 31 bifurcated at their upper ends 32 and 33, respectively, to receive the ends of the shaft 19 of the roller 18. The shank 24 formed by the arms 25 and 26 is preferably about one-half the length of the distance from the extensions 28 and 29 to the base 4 when the fork 21 is in the normally extended With such a short shank 24, the assembly of the parts is materially facilitated since the spring 20 and fork 21 are inserted into cooperation with the shaft 19 and bracket 1 after the shaft 19 has been positioned in the slots 15 and 16 of the bracket 1. Furthermore, due to the Width of the base 22 of the spring 20 and the fact that, see Fig. 4, the fork 21 practically fulcrums around the upper narrow end 23 of the spring 20 when tilted, there is no danger of the spring 20 becoming displaced from the base 4 of the bracket 1.

The tapering shape of the arms 25 and 26 and flare formed between the two as they extend from the outer end 27 cooperate with the conical shape of the spring 20 to enable the roller 18 to tilt relative to the bracket 1 should it strike a warp or obstruction without danger of displacing the spring 20.

Excellent results have also been achieved when the hourglass coil spring 34 is used in place of the coil spring 20, when, however, the narrow intermediate portion 35 thereof will bend when the roller 18 strikes a warp or unexpected obstruction.

When the spiral spring 46 of Fig. 6 is used in place of the coil spring 20, then the bend in the spring will be distributed throughout the same should the roller 18 strike a warp or unexpected obstruction as illustrated in Fig. 4.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction without departing from the general spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a roller catch, the combination of a bracket having a base and a four-sided enclosure, two of said sides extending beyond the other two sides and having slots near their free ends, a shaft extending through said slots, a yieldable roller on said shaft disposed between said latter two sides, a fork having a yoke which has two parallel arms and a shank, the free ends of said two arms being bifurcated to receive said shaft inside of said latter two sides, said shank being tapered to a diminished end at its free end, and a coil spring receiving said shank and tensed between said yoke and said base.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said fork is composed of one piece of sheet metal with the shank formed by portions of said metal being overlapped and flaring toward one another as they approach said diminished end. 7

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said fork is composed of one piece of sheet metal with 1 the shank formed by portions of said metal being overlapped and flaring toward one another as they approach said diminishel end, and said spring is conical having a diminished upper end hugging said shank and an enlarged lower end extending from one side to an opposite side of said base.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said spring is conical having a diminished upper end hugging said shank and an enlarged lower end extending from one side to an opposite side of said base.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said fork is composed of one piece of sheet metal with the shank formed by portions of said metal being overlapped and flaring toward one another as they approach said diminished end, and said spring is hourglass in 25 shape having an enlarged upper end engaging said yoke and an enlarged lower end extending from one side to an opposite side of said base.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said fork is composed of one piece of sheet metal with the shank formed by portions of said metal being overlapped and flaring toward one another as they approach said diminished end, and said spring is cylindrical in shape and at its lower end extends from one side to an opposite side of said base.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said fork is composed of one piece of spring sheet metal with the shank formed by portions of said metal being overlapped and flaring toward one another as they approach said diminished end.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which one of the other two sides of said enclosure constitutes a short flange to facilitate inserting said fork and spring when assembling the roller catch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

